William Shatner and Anson Mount Are Coming to Phoenix Fan Fusion 2023

Set your phasers to fun.

February 2, 2023

Image: William Shatner during his appearance at Phoenix Comic Fest 2018.

William Shatner during his appearance at Phoenix Comic Fest 2018. Benjamin Leatherman

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Get ready to set your phasers to fun, local nerds. William Shatner and Anson Mount, the actors behind two of Star Trek’s most iconic captains, are set to appear at pop-cultural Phoenix Fan Fusion 2023 as special guests.

Organizers of the three-day pop-culture and geek event, which runs from June 2 to 4 at the Phoenix Convention Center, announced the news this week.

Unless you’ve been living under a pile of tribbles the last 57 years, you probably know Shatner portrayed Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise on the original Star Trek series (as well as the franchise’s first seven films) and will forever be linked with the character. Mount plays Kirk’s predecessor Captain Christopher Pike on the prequel series Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Shatner previously appeared at the event in 2012 (when it was called Phoenix Comicon) and 2018 (when it was Phoenix Comic Fest).

They’re both part of the first wave of celebrity guests that Square Egg, the Phoenix-based company that puts on Fan Fusion, has announced for this year’s event. The list will also include Hocus Pocus actress Kathy Najimy and twin brothers James and Oliver Phelps from the Harry Potter movies.

Specifics of Shatner and Mount’s appearance (such as what days they’ll appear) haven’t been revealed yet. You don’t have to be as smart as M-5 to guess they’ll share a stage at some point during Fan Fusion.

Tickets for the event are on sale now. Single-day memberships for adults are $50 for Friday, June 2, or Sunday, June 4; or $60 for Saturday, June 3. A “full event” membership covering the entire weekend is $110.

Benjamin Leatherman is a staff writer for Phoenix New Times where he focuses primarily on arts, culture, music and nightlife. He joined New Times in 2003. Prior to that, he contributed to magazines such as Tips & Tricks and The Wrestler. Benjamin has earned multiple awards from the Arizona Press Club including an award for sports enterprise reporting in 2009 and an award for statewide arts reporting in 2014. He holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

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